Chapter 40: Prison Break.
Once Xipa and Paul finally managed to get the doors to the queen's chamber open the pair rushed inside onto the metal catwalks that overlooked the chamber itself.
"Don't worry we are going to get you out!" Xipa called to the heavily restrained Xenomorph queen below.
The large Xeno lifted her large crested head to look up at the younger female Xeno as she rushed across the metal catwalks towards a winding metal staircase that lead down to the ground level with her new human companion in tow.
"Why is there a human with you!?" the queen hissed in surprise and anger as she saw the young human male dressed in white following behind Xipa.
"He's helping me, he was not here through choice, they tricked him into coming here and threatened the lives of his family when he wanted to leave and to blow the whistle on what was going on here," Xipa said.
This entire conversation was telepathic so Paul himself had utterly no idea it was even occurring other than the odd hiss and growl he heard nothing.
But when he reached the bottom of the stairs he looked up at the captive queen and his colour drained as he saw her glaring at him menacingly, "And you believed him?" the queen asked Xipa.
"What reason would he have to lie to me?" Xipa countered.
"To save his own miserable life from our wrath young one, they realise that a reckoning for their actions is upon them and they seek to save themselves from the claws of fate and justice" the queen snarled angrily.
Xipa stepped in-between the angry queen and the terrified human and refocused the queen's attention, "Paul go find the releases for the restraints and release them" she said and he looked at Xipa like she'd gone mad.
"You swore to me that you'd help, honour your word and no harm will come to you, Clan Mason never forgets who our friends are," Xipa said confidently and Paul nodded shakily heading quickly across the metal room to a set of panels hidden inside a small control booth.
"You see how he hesitates young one? It is proof of his guilt, he helps not out of conscience but out of fear!" the queen hissed and Xipa shook her head.
"You would be afraid in his shoes too, he has no friends on either side, does he? He was forced to be here so his captors would show him no mercy for helping us and we would show him no mercy for his forced actions, so what is he to do?" Xipa said and the queen looked at her wonderingly.
"You are an odd one Xipa I will give you that, but I promise you this I will get to the bottom of his intentions and I will even make you a promise if he has been truthful with you and he is indeed as much a victim as you say then I will spare him the wrath of myself and my children, but if he has deceived you then I will show him no mercy," the queen said.
Xipa thought on this for a moment glancing at the human scientist as he worked to figure out the controls in the booth, although she didn't feel right letting him potentially die after aiding them crimes like these must be paid for in blood, it was the way of the Clan, so she nodded her long domed head, "Deal" she said.
Suddenly there were a series of loud clicks and clacks from high above them and the chains that were holding the queen's limbs taught fell loose along her to reach down to herself, Paul reemerged from the booth holding what looked like a kind of giant metal key in both his hands.
"I found the chain release but the collar and manacles I believe are released with this thing," he said holding it up somewhat triumphantly as he smiled at Xipa.
"Good, quickly now, release her," she said pointing to the manacles around the queen's wrist and ankles, Paul hesitated for a moment, "Errr she knows I'm trying to help her right? She's not going to just attack me is she?" he said.
"If you have done nothing wrong then you have nothing to fear from her" Xipa said warningly but Paul nodded and moved forwards towards the manacle around her long tail oddly choosing to release it first, before moving on to her ankles and then her wrists, for the last one he offered the key itself to the queen as he was unable to reach her throat.
The queen took it and unlocked the final restraint before flexing her obviously sore muscles, "Free at last! Now we shall see the depths of your truths or lies human!" the queen said before whipping her tail around and snatching an utterly terrified Paul off the ground.
"You promised! You swore to me that you would not hurt him!" Xipa screeched and the queen glanced at her.
"I am a female of my word, I shall not harm a single hair of his, IF he tells you the truth, if he does not then his fate is already sealed" the queen replied.
"Help me! Please I don't want to die!" Paul screamed as the queen moved him around to her face and opened her large mouth towards the struggling human.
But rather than bite him her inner jaws shot forwards just as he opened his mouth to scream and plugged his mouth open as the queen pumped a dose of royal jelly down his throat making his whole body go slack.
"Now we shall see what it is you hide human," the queen said before letting the unconscious male hang limply in the coils of her tail while she used her newly forming connection to dive into his mind.
Xipa was almost dancing about on her feet as she waited for the results of the queen's intrusion into Paul's mind, she could actually feel her diving and swimming through the human's thoughts like they were an ocean of ether, all Xenos had telepathy, but that of a queen was truly something to behold.
Suddenly the queen turned and very gently laid Paul down upon the metal deck plating at her feet, she turned her large head crest to face Xipa, "He tells the truth, he was tricked, this Weyland Yutani that haunts his nightmares used his own hopes and dreams against him, he dreamed of becoming a scientist, of helping his people to discover new and wonderful things, to make the lives of other humans better, he even dreamed of going to space and maybe even finding alien life that he might see it with his own eyes, see but not harm or even disturb, he didn't even wish to study it if he thought that it might in anyway harm it, he came here filled with such excitement and hope but once he found out the truth of this prison he was filled with horror and anger, he wished to go home to his home world and to spread word of the plight of myself and my children in the hope that others like him would rally to the cause of freeing us, but this Weyland Yutani found him out and used threats of violence and death against his hive to force his silence and his continued work here, he also told the truth when he said that he did not ever work on us, what he didn't tell you is that he's also been slipping extra food rations from his own supply into the cages of my children at random just to show them that there are good humans out there that could help them if they could, he has been making himself go hungry so that my children may have extra food to eat in the hope that not only would they see that not all humans are bad but that they might grow strong enough to escape on their own" the queen said in a voice that sounded so lost and confused.
Xipa laid a hand on the queen's large arm, "See? Not all of their kind wish us harm, in fact, I'd go to say it is quite the opposite, you have seen my memories of my own hive, of my life upon the world that I grew, you have seen the beauty and truth of Clan Mason and how they treat all sentient life as sacred, in the Clan all are free, in the Clan, all are protected, in the Clan all are loved, it is our way and I would trade Clan Mason for no other place in this universe or any other, it is my home, my hive, my family, I love them and they love me and trust me when I say they are coming for me and when they do these bastards, these evil humans that have harmed you and your children will know a fury they have not even dreamed of" Xipa said proudly.
The queen nodded her large head, "I believe you little one, I feel the pride in your heart at your hive, I have seen your own birth queen and I have seen her love for her king through your eyes and it is both strange and beautiful" the queen said and Xipa nodded.
"Trust me these humans should just be glad that my queen is safely back on the Clan Mason homeworld because if she comes here they will soon know exactly what the word vengeance means in its purest form" Xipa chuckled to herself.
"The fury of a queen and a mother who seeks to protect her young is never something to be either underestimated or laughed at young one," the queen said slightly scoldingly and Xipa gave her a toothy grin.
"I wasn't mocking her good queen simply remembering the time my king accidentally trod on my queen's tail while wearing one of the power loading suits the humans of my hive use to move heavy goods around, she screeched like a banshee and hoisted him off the ground by one leg with this huge snarl on her face till she realised who she was holding, she simply flips him up and stomps off carrying him wrapped in her tail demanding that he make it right and soothe her pains with a tail massage, by the noises we all heard coming from her chambers about twenty minutes later he soothed a lot more than her tail," Xipa said chuckling at the memory.
The big Queen cocked her head curiously, "It seems your queen loves her king deeply" she said and Xipa grinned.
"She worships the ground he walks upon as he worships her, their love is the shining beacon on which my entire hive was founded and the life on which it thrives," Xipa said proudly.
"I hope I get to meet them someday young one if only to tell her what a good daughter she has raised," the queen said making Xipa smile proudly.
Suddenly alarm klaxon's began to sound above them, "Attention all security synths the Xenomorph queen has broken loose, I repeat the Xenomorph queen has broken loose, terminate with extreme prejudice!" a rather cold and harsh sounding female voice the Xipa instantly recognised as that of the human female who brought here in the first place said over the tannoy.
"We have to go! Now!" Xipa yelled and the queen nodded stopping only to lift the still unconscious Paul from the ground gently in her tail before running for stairs.
Trying to move through winding narrow corridors with a gigantic Xeno queen was neither easy nor fun, especially when odd-looking synthetic humanoids kept appearing and shooting at you.
Xipa and the queen were forced deeper into the facility in their bid to try and escape the hunting droids that sought to exterminate them before finding themselves in some kind of large cargo bay filled with metallic crates and heavy lifting machinery.
"Quick! Hide between the crates!" Xipa yelled and the pair of them dashed in-between the rows of shelves vanishing from sight.
The pair could hear the doors and the heavy footsteps of the synthetics as they entered the room, Xipa silently began to pray to Paya for a miracle because if the synths discovered them in here there was no way out, they were caught like rats in a trap.
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Remal sprinted over the ground as fast as his little legs would carry him towards the enemy base, never in his life had he felt such a rush as this, his whole life till the moment he had been found by Clan Mason in the city of Legerin felt like it had been empty and meaningless.
On his homeworld, he had been a simple solitary prideless male, a singer and a dancer in a popular club that was frequented by female prides from all over the city, from other cities too in fact.
The place where he'd worked was called the Statin Scale and it was a place where you had to order tickets to get in six months in advance to see one of their shows.
Remal himself was one of their star attractions, he had stood on stage before thousands if not hundreds of thousands of females all enraptured by his singing and his dancing as he had performed his renditions of ancient love songs all given a modern and what he likes to call the Remal twist.
It had been incredibly popular and every night he'd gotten off stage he'd found his personal changing room filled to bursting with gift baskets and cards all hoping to win his favour so that the sending pride might claim him as their pride male.
But Remal had always felt empty, no matter how many times he sang, no matter how much passion and energy he put into his dance, he always felt like something was simply missing from him, like a part of himself simply wasn't being used like it was supposed to like he was letting the Great Tree down and wasting his gifts in some way, which in turn made him feel like a failure.
Then came that fateful night, a night that changed his entire life in one fell swoop, the night that he saw her sitting in the audience.
To be fair she had been kind of obvious even among the full house of about twenty thousand Raptorian females in the great stage which was the Satin Scale's primary attraction, it was a great honour for any of the performers to play upon it, but they're sticking out like a sore tail was a Yautja female sat at a tiny table right in the middle of a throng of Raptorian prides.
Remal had never seen one before, he'd heard all about them of course as they had been all over the news, the great alien heroes that came to save Raptoria from the evil male stealing Scalathor and Draconis, a fact that being a male himself made him incredibly glad and grateful, he had feared for his safety and chastity when he'd heard what was happening on the surface of their home.
Then came Smoke, the great Guardian of Males, a human guardian who stood for the males of his world in the face of threats inside their home, like the vile mimics who would steal males from their prides, devouring them and leave their pride with nothing but unending grief at the loss of their beloved husband and children, a human face that had appeared on every TV screen across Raptoria inspiring the hearts of many that they were safe with these newcomers because they would stand in defence them despite no one asking them to.
Then the was the Great Breaker of Chains herself, the Grad Matriach of Clan Mason Tik eleth Mason, a Yautja female like the one who sat in the audience here tonight, a powerful and mighty warrior female who quite literally broke the chains of the innocent and delivered them from suffering and servitude into the arms of loving and caring Raptorian prides who would love them and care for them for the rest of their lives.
Then the was the Hero of Raptoria Jack Mason, the human male who had led the defence of their home, he was apparently some kind of super being that fought like a one-man army, he and his Seekers of Truth were like some kind of superheroes among the Raptorians that had saved.
Something just told him that he had to put on the show of his life tonight so he had, Remal had sung and danced his little masculine heart out on that stage while strutting his stuff for all to see and it had brought the house down, the Raptorian prides had screamed the place down and with their applause still ringing in his ears Remal had looked out over the crowd to find that the Yautja lady had gone, so feeling sad and a little dejected he had gone back to his dressing room, where to his utter shock he found someone had simply walked right past security and let themselves in.
As he'd walked in a strange prickling feeling that he was being watched set all of his carefully groomed feathers on edge and he'd whirled around on the spot to find the Yautja lady from the crowd stood towering over him wearing a bright and warm smile on her mandibles as she leaned down to look at him.
"Greetings little brother" she had said in a voice like warm gravel that had vibrated over his very soul itself.
"H-H-Hello" he'd said feeling his heart beating like a woodpecker squirrel in his chest as he'd looked up into the impossibly bright golden eyes of the dark skin female towering over him.
"Fear not little one you are in no danger from me, I sensed the presence of one of our beautiful brothers in this place and lo and behold I have found you," she said her voice rubbing over his soul like a warm scale polishing pad.
"W-W-Who are you?" he stammered feeling incredibly nervous.
The big female Yautja smiled warmly drawing her mandibles up even further as she did, "My name is L'operen Jelovian and I am a Seeker of Truth, more specifically I am a Balance Seeker one of the ones trusted to seek out the voices of our hidden bothers and sisters among the billions all speaking together in the great chorus of souls we call life, and here I am little brother ready to show you who you really are and what you can really be" she'd said and with that she'd reached out with a huge hand towards him.
Somehow Remal didn't feel she was going to hurt him despite her incredible size and obvious power, so when her huge hand moved slowly towards him he didn't flinch from it he simply allowed it to be placed onto his head settling her huge fingers in between his silk soft and carefully groomed feathers.
That's when it happened, there simply weren't words to describe what happened to him right there in his changing room, it was like one minute being alone in your own little bubble and the next you were listening to the beating heart of the universe itself.
Remal was awakened right there in that room, he'd found the part of himself that he'd always so desperately sought, like a light had been lit in his very soul itself, "Now you see when you were once blind, now you hear where you were once deaf, the universe calls to you little Dream Warrior, will you hear its call and will you answer it? Or will you remain mute and turn away? The choice is yours little one" she said softly.
He looked up into those incredibly bright and impossibly kind eyes of hers and he saw it, the truth that he had always sought was being offered to him right here, all he had to do was reach out his hand and take it, so he did, he reached out his hand to her and placed it right inside her incredibly large one which when it close on his utterly engulfed it.
"Good choice little brother, come now let us take you to your new home, a place where you can learn to be where what you were truly meant to be and from there you can further choose, once you are a Seeker will you return here to your beautiful world filled with your kin and stand for it, or will you remain with us and begin life anew among Clan Mason?" she said softly as he began to lead the incredibly curious and exited Raptorian male from his dressing room passed all the utterly stunned prides of the Statin Scale and all the way to the waiting ship where sat waiting were others just like him, all waiting to start their new lives.
Once his training was complete that choice had once again been offered to him and Remal had chosen to take the oath of Clan Mason, he had been badged a full Seeker Soul Knight and the Clan had welcomed him with open arms, he simply could not turn his back on the place that had silently for all these years called to him from across the silent ocean of stars.
Because from the very first moment his feet had touched Clan Mason soil he'd known he was truly home, the place he truly belonged, a place that prospered and grew under a brilliant blue sky and was filled with millions of different faces but all beat with a single heart, he was Clan Mason and he always had been, but only now did he realise it.
So now as his little legs pounded like the soil of an alien world like the pistons of a steam engine as he ran alongside his brothers and sisters Remal felt a pride that he had never known, he a male Raptorian was charging into battle to defeat an enemy and to rescue a sister he had never met all because the Scared Words of an oath that he had sworn upon his immortal soul to uphold and defend had been spoken and defend it he would even with his dying breath, because this was what Clan Mason was all about and he loved his Clan as they loved him.
The base they streamed towards was shaped like an oversized pyramid and stood in vast contrast to the red rock and dust all around it, all around it cannons fired skywards in a vain attempt to repel the vengeful invaders that rushed towards it and soldiers fired towards the oncoming Seekers from their positions on the battlements of the base.
But trying to hit a Seeker running at full tilt was like trying to shoot a sunbeam, it just wasn't going to happen.
Remal and his brothers and sisters simply weaved and dodged around the projectiles like they were moving in slow motion, Lispen one of the new Ghost Slithers that had Joined the ranks of the Seekers was having a whale of a time, she actually looked like she was dancing as she slithered at incredible speed between the projectiles even stopping to pluck some out of the air and to throw them back which seriously confused the shooters that fired them.
The Seekers reached the outer perimeter wall that stretched all around and without even breaking their stride all ran vertically up it before leaping over it and into the outer compound.
Their first job would be to knock out the anti-air defences so that the Hunter, Saviour and Battle Angel teams could land without casualty, Remal knew that other Seeker teams would be on their way down as well as with the arrival of the Grand Matriarch's Fury there was no way either the Grand Patriarch or Matriarch would sit up there and let everyone else fight, especially not during a Dark Star, the pair would be on the ground ready to kick the fucking doors in as soon as they could.
"Red team going left!" Red one called over the comms and the team of four Seekers broke off from the main formation.
"Bronze team going right!" Bronze one yelled and the other four broke off and headed right from the main formation.
"Alright Blue team that means we are going down the middle, follow me and let's take out those pauking cannons!" Blue one yelled and charged forwards with Remal and the rest of the team hot on his heels.
The Seekers had drawn weapons before they had even hit the outer wall so now when they charged vertically up the outer walls of the pyramid before them they were cocked, locked and ready to fight.
The first enemy soldier that Remal saw was a human dressed in some kind of black combat armour, he was with a squad of four just like Remal himself, they were all holding a mixture of anti-air man-portable missile launchers and odd-looking machineguns that appeared to be affixed to the centre mass of the person holding them by some kind of load-bearing gimbal swing arm.
Their faces were hidden behind the mirrored visors of their helmets but Remal could feel the surprise echoing off each and every one at the appearance of four-armed assailants running up a vertical wall.
Remal had often wondered since entering Seeker training whether when it came down to it whether he'd be able to take another sentient life, he had wrestled with this premiss throughout his training so much so that the Grand Patriarch himself had come to him and had taken him for someone on one training and Remal would never forget his words to him as long as he lived.
"Why is it you feel conflicted little one?" the Hero of Raptoria himself had said while kneeling with Remal kneeling before him on the soft bamboo matts of the meditation centre of the Seeker temple.
"I-I-I just don't know if I am cut out to do this, when it comes down to it I'm worried I'll freeze up and it will cost one of my brothers or sisters their life as they try to undo my mistake" Remal had said.
Jack had nodded and without opening his eyes he had reached out a hand to him which Remal had taken, "Tell me little one, do you believe that the Great Tree has placed their faith in you?" he asked.
"W-W-Well I guess so, I mean he must have or I would not be the way I am right?" Remal had said and Jack nodded.
"Exactly, it was once believed that all Dream Warriors were the product of the Eternal Huntress Paya the goddess of the Yautja, but now it is known that all of the deities create their own Dream Warriors, blessed ones who are touched by these divine beings before their soul even has a body to call its own, so think on this little one, the Great Tree is your patron deity and she had faith in you even before you were born and now here you are, a Raptorian male on a world far from his own learning how to become a warrior, doing things no Raptorian ever thought a male would ever be capable of, you were once a singer in a great hall who wowed the crowds with the power of his voice and the sensuality of his dancing, now you are a warrior and all it took for that to happen was for you to open your mind to the voice of your heart and to listen to it because through your heart the Great Tree speaks to you and guides you," Jack said.
His words had rung through Remal's soul like a little bell in a silent room sending truth resonating through him, he was absolutely right, the moment he'd seen that Yautja female in the Satin Scale he had simply known that he was destined to follow her where she led him and now here he was.
Jack smiled warmly at him and moved his hand to the little Raptorian's slender shoulder, "The Great Tree has faith in you little one and so do I, when the time comes you will hear the words meant for you and only for you and you will know exactly what to do of this I have no doubt, all you have to do is believe in yourself" Jack said.
Now the time had come and once again those words rang through his soul like a bell and Remal didn't even hesitate.
No sooner had his foot touched the railing behind which the defenders stood than Remal used it to launched himself forwards like a little scaley missile encased in metal, he'd drawn his Seeker weapons which in his case were a pair of wicked-looking curved daggers made specifically for him and him alone, they were called the Claws of Raptoria.
His first strike his the male closest to him who was holding one of the large hip mounted machineguns, he hit the man with so much force from kicking off the railing that he was able to push the blades right through the man's body armour which was designed to stop both projectiles and blades, but they obviously hadn't counted on the strength of a Seeker not to mention the power contained within the blessed weapons they carried.
The dark metal glowed faintly as it sank right through his black armour like it was made of paper causing the man to scream loudly as both blades tasted blood for the very first time as they punched right through his heart on both sides, Remal snarled right in the man's face before he kicked off his chest propelling the already dead man backwards as Remal used his momentum to hit his next target.
This one was a female human who was holding a shoulder-mounted anti-air missile launcher on her shoulder, she never even saw the hit coming as Remal shot past her twisting in the air to slice right through her throat as he passed her on his way to the third person in the line.
Flipping over mid-flight Remal deployed the signature of his species in using the wicked claws that the Great Tree had given him on his feet, angling them just right he was able to use both his velocity to smash them right through the male's helmet-like using a spark plug to break a car window.
The incredibly sharp claws that were encased in the metal of his armour which only enhanced them shattered the man's visor exposing him to the planet's atmosphere but more than that they hit him square in both eyes using his velocity to drive them both through his soft ocular organs right into his brain.
Remal flicked his daggers around once again and compressed his mighty little legs before firing himself off the already dead man towards his fourth and final victim, this one he got square in the back as the male turned towards the other Seekers of the Blue team who were just appearing over the railing, the man never even got chance to fire the rifle he was beginning to lift towards Remal's bothers and sister because once again Remal's aim was true and his daggers added yet another heart to their tally.
As the final male human fell dead to the floor Remal flicked both of the Claws of Raptoria to clear the blood from them and rather than feeling sick or shamed he felt proud, these people were going to hurt his brothers and sister and he had stopped them alone, he had stood for his brothers and sister, for his Clan, he was a Seeker of Truth and he had found his truth, he was Dream Warrior of the Great Tree and he was proud of it.
As Remal rejoined his team on their run Blue one glanced at the little Raptorian running at his side, "Great job back there Blue three you showed those fuckers what happens when you fuck with Clan Mason and with the Seekers of Truth!" he said filling Remal's heart with pride.
"Thanks, boss" he replied and Blue one gave him a thumbs up before the team crested a lip and they found their first anti-air cannon.
The quad barrel automated flack style cannon didn't stand a chance against one Seeker let alone four of them, as one all four of them hefted their rifles and fired slugs through the outer armour of the cube-shaped turret all seeking its ammo store which Blue one found with his third shot, the hypervelocity railgun slugs acting like sabot rounds that melted on impact and sent a white-hot stream of molten metal firing into the sensitive inner workings of the cannon, with a roar the whole thing exploded and the cannon itself was launched off its conical-shaped mounting shooting right up into the air where it vanished for sight.
It took the three Seeker teams literal minutes to take out every single one of the anti-air turrets and positions dotted around the pyramid and by the way that heavily armoured shutters had been dropped down over every entry and exit point the people inside knew all they could do was try to keep the invaders out because they were not going to be stopped.
"Blue one to the Grand Matriarch's Fury skies are clear, it's time to bring down the hammer on the pauks!" Blue one said as Remal stood atop of the pyramid, rifle in hand looking at the devastation the three Seeker teams had wrought on the defences of this place, smoke was rising into the air from every corner of the compound.
"Roger that Blue one good job, brace yourself the hammer is quite literally coming down, the Grand Matriarch and Patriarch are on they're way down and they have someone with them who is most keen to see her daughter again, Grand Matriarch's Fury out" the captain of the Grand Matriarch replied.
No sooner had the words finished than Remal heard the familiar roar of approaching drop ships and pods, looking skywards his mouth was tugged upwards into a proud smile after he managed to close his dropped jaw that was.
The entire sky was utterly filled with flaming streaks making it look like a meteor of epic proportions, it looked like the entire Clan was dropping down on the planet when in reality this was only a small part of it, but it was more than enough to send a real message.
Leading the charge was a large dropship that was flying ahead of the group, Remal was under no illusions who it contained, unlike the common prides of his old home Jack Mason and Tik eleth Mason were no the type of leaders who were content to sit back in a command bunker and direct the battle from safety, they were the true embodiment of leaders and like any good leaders, they always led from the front, facing the very same dangers as everyone else because the pair practised exactly what they preached, unity.
No sooner had the large boxy drop ship's landing struts hit the dirt than its ramp was lowering and both Tik eleth Mason and Jack Mason strode down the ramp together along with Ryan Mason and even Sela eleth Mason, the sight of the four dressed in full battle armour weapons in hands stood shoulder to shoulder ready to lead their Clan into battle to rescue their lost sister took Remal's breath away, though four of them simply oozed power and control.
At their side's were their personal teams, Silver one is also known as Soul Knight one which was Jack's personal team made up entirely of the best Soul Knights in the Seekers which contained the legendary Serpentinus wrangler Liam Silver Dimondscale himself.
Hunter one which Tik's own team were at her sides all dressed in purest gold so bright that they were hard to look right at even through his helmet's tinted visor which just magnified their presence tenfold.
Tamer one strode alongside Ryan each of them having some form of an animal at their sides well all except for Analise who rode proudly on the back of a truly huge fire tiger called Zed, Remal had seen him with his pack around the Seeker temple playing with the Scalathor males and with her beloved mate Kelmar Littlewing a free Draconis male turned Savior and speaking of the Saviours a team of their best and brightest strode proudly at Sela eleth's side equipped with a verity of ass-kicking tools.
But it was who came down the ramp of the ship next that really shocked Remal, dressed in what appeared to be a form of dragon scale armour looking every bit as regal as her title implied was queen Citrus.
The huge Xeno queen had a kind of metallic armour that hugged her form completely covering her body in metallic scales that both protected and enhanced her natural assets, like for instance her tail now seemed to have three points at its tip arranged into a trident shape, on the crest of her head she had incredibly sharp-looking horns and on her back there seemed to be fitted some kind of minigun turret that was collapsed currently as she was walking bipedally.
At her side was some kind of armour suit, it looked like a mech of some kind that remained Remal of the power loaders that he'd seen in their hive and at the space docks but crossed with some kind of Samurai armour that Remal had seen in pictures he'd seen at the Seeker temple while learning the ancient sword fighting techniques of the Grand Patriach's homeworld.
But rather than large claws at the ends of its arms, this one seemed to be fitted with some incredibly powerful-looking weaponry, its entire left arm seemed to be an eight barrel Gattling gun, on both shoulders it had gimbal based railguns that could be deployed just like the Seekers own Yautja plasma casters.
On the right arm seemed to be some kind of multi-barrel missile launcher with a belt-fed magazine that ran into a pack on his back just like the other arm, it took Remal reaching out with his senses to figure out that inside the incredible looking mech suit was Citrus's human king, it was Yoshi.
Remal walked up to the Clan leadership and their teams and all snapped into crisp parade salutes before them, "Seeker team Blue one reporting in Grand Matriarch and Patriarch, the outer perimeter is completely secure, the pauking cowards have battened down the hatches rather than fight us, Red and Bronze team have set breaching charges all over the building at every entry point we could identify and we are ready to breach on your orders!" Blue one said.
Jack mason nodded as he ran his eyes over the team, "Excellent work Seekers you have done your Clan proud' he said then his eyes locked onto little Remal still stood in his crisp salute and he strode right up to him looking down as he did.
"I told you you'd find your truth little one, seems the Great Tree spoke to you and you listened," he said.
"Yes Grand Patriarch, he told me these are my brothers and sisters, my blood and together we stand tall and proud from the smallest to the largest, together we are united, as one but we only stay that way if we fight for one another to our dying breath because upon that breath we will take our first step into the Golden Garden to join the ones we protected in life, rewards are earned, not given," Remal said repeating the words that he'd heard whispered through his soul as his blades had struck the first human and hadn't realised until this very moment.
Remal could feel Jack's smile through his visor as he patted him on the shoulder, "Blue team fall in with queen Citrus and king Yoshi you just became their personal Seeker bodyguards, you will defend them and ensure that the queen and king reaches their beloved daughter, you will go through anyone that stands in their way like the blade of the Eternal Huntress herself, their new call signs are Blue King and Blue Queen understood?" the Grand Patriarch said addressing the whole team.
"Yes Grand Patriarch!" they all roared together as one and with one last pat to his shoulder Jack strode past Remal towards the huge shuttered blast door that stood between the Clan and entrance to the pyramid.
Remal and his team instantly fell into positions around both queen Citrus and king Yoshi creating a perimeter around them as they moved, other Hunter and Seeker teams had now rushed to the front to join the march while others had fanned out to reach other entry points.
Savior sniper teams were setting up on every available high spot to bring down anyone who tried to flee the Clan's justice, while Battle Angel teams stood ready to rush into the fray to extract the innocents their beloved sister was protecting in there, Remal could feel the sheer heat of the flames of the fury that was burning in the hearts of every single one of them, but he could feel something else burning bright in every heart here as well, underneath the fury, underneath the pride, it was quiet but at the same time it was the loudest thing here, it was unity, this was one giant pride and together they were unified in one single purpose, to get back their beloved blood or to avenge her in the bloodiest way possible.
Jack reach the large blast door and he looked up at it, it was covered in a variety of plasma blast charges at all the weak points forming a kind of circle, he glanced around at everyone and Remal could literally feel it, the whole Clan was waiting for him, the weight of this whole thing was his shoulders and he bore it without a single break in his stride, "Silver one to all call signs, let's get our sister back, breach! Breach! Breach!' he yelled and like the bellow of a chorus of angry dragons, there were roars from every direction.